Venetian blind



Aug. 8, 1950 0. L. HERRON VENETIAN BLIND Filed Oct. 29, 1945 INVENTOR.0ZZ z e fi er/v27.

Patented Aug. 8, 1950 mi.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i I 2,517,788 h i VENETIAN BLIND Ollie L.Herron, Chicago, Ill. Application OctoberZB, 1945, Serial No. 625,203

1 The invention relates to. curtains Or the like and it has particularrelation to Venetian blinds.

The ordinary type of Venetian blind comprises a series of slats disposedbetween spaced pairs of fabric strips or ribbons and these strips haveinterconnecting tabs disposed under each slat. While blinds of thischaracterhave been and are widely used, a common and serious objectionto them is that the fabric strips become soiled or discolored and as aresult the blind presents an unsightly appearance. It isexceedinglydifficult to clean the strips since they are fastened to thestructure and it is impossible to remove them for dry or other similarcleaning. Usually an attempt to clean them while inplace leaves telltalediscoloration or marks and often the strips have a worse appearance thanthey had before cleaning.

One object of the present invention is to pro-- vide a Venetian blindhaving an in proved type of ribbon and slat supporting structure whichwill avoid the objections previously noted with respect to the fabricstrips.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Venetian blindwhich is more easily maintained in a clean condition and which has animproved appearance as compared to structures heretofore used.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowingspecification, from the drawings relating thereto, and from theclaims hereinafter set forth. n

For a better understanding of the invention reference maybe had to thedrawings wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view of awindow having a Venetian blindconstructed according to one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on a larger scale or similar structureIll and a lower cross member H constituting the upper and lower ends ofthe blind. In the design illustrated, three pairs of ribbons [2, I3 andM are connected to the cross members In and l I, and each of thesepairs, as seen in Fig. 2, comprises ribbons l6 and I1.

. Y 2 l The slats are indicated at I8 and each slatis supported on eachpair of ribbons by a connecting element 20 comprising a bar or redhaving ballshaped ends 2| and 22. One improvement according to thepresent in- Vention resides principally in the construction of theribbon employed and the co-operation be;- tween the ribbons and the slatsupporting 816-. ments. As shown best by Fig. 5, each ribbon comprisesan intermediate woven fabric 24 which is coated on both sides with arubber-like material, as indicated at 25 and 26, bonded to the fabric.Various synthetic rubbers, for instance, may beemployed as coatings forthe fabric and one material found particularly suitable .is Koraseal.Such rubber materials may be furnished in various colors and designs andit should be evident that ribbons so constructed maybe easilycleanedespecially as compared to the work iri volved in cleaningordinaryfabric ribbons now used widely on Venetian blinds. Ribbons such asemployed in the present invention may not only be cleaned easily butwill not become stained in cleaning such as often occurs in cleaningordinary fabric ribbons. l

. The slat supporting elements 20 are connected to the ribbons byformingopenings 28, as seen in Fig. 3, with the openings slightly smaller thanthe ball elements 2! and ,22 so that the material must be stretched inorder to allow the ball ele+ ments to pass through the openings. Inassembling the connectin slat supporting elementsand ribbons, it is onlynecessary to press the aper tured portion of theribbon over the ballelement and in doingthis, the material can readily be stretchedsufficiently to allow the ball to pass through the opening and then thematerial returns to its non-stretched condition so as to prevent theball elements from becoming released. The rubber material isparticularly useful in this connection due to its elasticity. i

In the construction shown by Fig. 3, the slat supporting elements areshown as comprising a It has been stated that the ribbons may beconstructed of woven fabric coated on both sides by material such asindicated. Under certain circumstances, it may be found desirable tocoat only one side of the woven fabric such as the outermost side andthen again it may be desirable under certain circumstances to use asolid rubber material without having woven fabric reenforcement. Againthe ribbons instead of having woven fabric may be formed with verticalextending cords or cord fabric which may be embedded within the rubber.With respect to the connecting rods 20, these may be formed fromplastic, .metal or other suitable material. Here again the material maybe colored as desired during its manufacture.

In the form of the invention shown by Fig. 4, the ribbons have snapfastener elements 35'which are adapted to be connected to slatsupporting elements indicated at 36. Such slat supporting elements mayhave downwardly turned-ends "31 provided with co-operating fastenerelements 38 which snap into engagement with the eyes or fastenerelements 35 on the ribbons. Thus the conn'ectingelements may be readilyapplied or removed. v

The usual 'means of tilting the slats may be used in the blindalthough-this is not shown exceptfor the pull cords 39 and 39. Also theusual depending loop'M may be provided for raising the lowercrosselement l l and this raising means usuallywill include cords 42extending downwardly through the slats as seen in Fig. 2. Orditwo endpairs I2 and i l of the ribbons.

Venetian blinds constructed according to the invention may "bemanufactured inexpensively "and the parts may be easily and readilyassem- 'narily'the cords 42 are only used between the ibled.Furthermoreg'the slat supporting elements may be readily disconnectedfrom the ribbons and cleaned or replaced. The ribbons and connectingelements are both constructed from material which may be'readily cleanedwithoutstaining and furthermore, thematerial does not absorb waterandtherefore will dry readily so that the reassembly may be made withoutwaiting for any drying period. The material employed also enables usingvarious colors and color combina- .tions so as to enhance the appearanceof the cross supporting members, a series of slats arranged one abovethe other, a pair of resiliently flexible vertically extending ribbonsconnected at their upper and lower ends to the cross members andextending downwardly at opposite sides of the slats and having openingstherethrough at the edges of the respective slats, and means connectingthe ribbons at each slat and extending under the slat and comprising anelement having knobs at its ends projectable through arranged one abovethe other, a pair of resiliently flexible vertically extending ribbonsconnected at their upper and lower ends to the cross members andextending downwardly at opposite sides of the slats "and having openingthere- "through at'the edges of tthe'resp'ective slats, and meansconnecting the ribbons'at each slat and extending under the slat'and.comprisin an element'having knobs at its ends 'projectable through saidopenings, said ribbons comprising fabric coated with rubber material andthe openings therein being smaller than the knobs, the ma- 'terial beingelastically stretchable to facilitate movement of the knobs through'the'respective openings.

3. A ribbon:for use in supporting the slats of a Venetian blindincluding slat supporting elements havingknobs adapted for connectingsaid elements to said ribbon, said ribbon comprising a strip ofelastically stretchable rubberized material having openings thereinslightly smaller than said knobs, said ribbon being stretchable withinthe elastic limit of the material to increase the size of said openingsso that said knobs may be passed therethrough.

JOLLIEL. HERRON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

